"I've got to hand it to you Mickey, you sure did pick
a neat place for our vacation," Lydia the cloud Chomby said as the large boat
they were on pulled up the harbour of Cotton Island.

"Yeah. The brochure promised a great time," replied
Mickey the skunk Moehog. "By the way, have you seen Toby?" Suddenly, a buzzing
sound could be heard from behind them. The two friends spun around and saw their
friend Toby the orange Buzz wobbling in the hair while being propelled by his
four paper-thin wings.

"How you doing Toby?" asked Lydia as she fought
back the giggles. It was quite a sight to see, Toby fighting to remain airborne
while swaying back and forth.

"Not good," Toby replied in a nasal voice. "Still
haven't completely recovered from that...that...you know..." Toby let his trail
off. His orange skin which had a tinge of green from his seasickness was being
replaced with a scarlet colour. He was embarrassed. But nobody could blame him.
He had gotten seasick from the boat ride over to Cotton Island and when he went
over to the boat's side to... er... disgorge, a wave hit the side of the boat
knocking the Buzz into the water.

"Are your wings dry yet?" Mickey inquired as
he stifled the giggles with his hoof.

"No... that's why I can't fly properly, rem...
em... A-CHOO!" Toby sneezed, knocking him out of the air and onto the deck of
the ship. Suddenly, the boat pulled up to the harbour of Cotton Island while
Lydia and Mickey fell to the ground laughing. Eventually, they all got their
bags and headed off the boat.

"Come on guys, let's drop our stuff off at the
hotel and then go sight-seeing!" Mickey cried excitedly as he ran off to their
hotel.

They ran to the Cotton Island Neolodge where
they had their reservation. They looked around at the extremely spiffy looking
Royal Neopian. They checked in and went up to their rooms to drop off their
luggage. On the back way down, the clerk at the counter spoke.

"Enjoy Cotton Island, while you still can," said
the Chia forlornly. The four friends their eyebrows and exchanged confused expressions
before leaving.

"I wonder what that Chia meant by enjoying the
island while we still can," pondered Lydia aloud. "He looked quite sad."

"Who cares? Come on, the island awaits!" Mickey
exclaimed.

***

The three friends strolled casually down the seaside parkway of Cotton Island
with the clerk's statement completely out of their mind. They passed stands
of vendors trying to sell their cheesy wares. Different souvenirs were attempted
to be sold as the Chomby, Moehog and Buzz explored more of the island. Lydia
and Toby crowded around Mickey who had the brochure which he read aloud.

"Cotton Island, a small island to the south of
Meridell, got its name from its number one industry, Cotton Producing. The hundreds
of Babaa that roam the planes get sheered by farmers and then the fleece is
shipped to the Cotton Warehouse. Cotton Island is responsible for producing
96% of all of Neopia's cotton."

"Yeah, they do! There are two daily tours...
and they're free!" Mickey exclaimed.

"I guess we can go," Toby said as they all ran
to find the warehouse.

They found the warehouse in no time at all. The
three friends ran to it and looked up. It towered above anything in the island,
besides a small cliff in the west. A large crowd was gathered around the warehouse.
They seemed to be yelling something.

"Please, please, calm down! There's not much
I can do! The warehouse will be closed until this problem can be worked out,"
addressed a compassionate looking Elephante from atop a large crate. The crowd
grumbled and shuffled off. Mickey, Lydia and Toby approached the crestfallen
Elephante.

"We just got here... what's the matter?" Toby
asked as the Elephante as she sat down on the box with her head rested on her
elbows.

"You're tourists, aren't you?" she asked.

"Er... yes, how'd you know?" questioned Lydia.

"If you were islanders, you'd have been here
sooner," she grumbled. The Elephante looked up at the three startled friends
and smiled compassionately. "My apologies for my behaviour, it's just been a
rough couple of days. You see, I'm the owner of the Cotton Warehouse. The workers
here have complained about about a ghost or something silly like that haunting
the warehouse. I've brought experts on that subject with me to check out the
factory, but I've never seen anything of the sort."

"But why was the crowd so angry?" Mickey asked.

"I think I know. The warehouse is the focal point
of the island. It put Cotton Island on the map," Lydia interjected.

"Well sort of... you see, the Cotton Warehouse
is the focal point of the island, therefore it attracts tourists like you. They
come and spend Neopoints all over the island. Without the warehouse, the tourists
will eventually stop coming and the island will go bankrupt."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Toby.

"Unless you can banish a ghost I don't even think
exists, there isn't much that can be done. It's been going on for six days,"
the Elephante answered softly. Tears started flowing down her yellow face. Suddenly,
a Jetsam with a smug expression approached the four pets.

"Dearest Sarah, I'm ever so sorry about what
happened to your warehouse. Remember, you'll always have a job in my factory,"
the Jetsam said with an oily voice that sounded far too fake.

"Hello there Zern. Thanks for you offer," Sarah
replied putting a totally insincere smile on her Elephante face to match the
Jetsam's smirk. Zern nodded and strolled away with an added skip in his step.

"Who's he?" Mickey asked.

"That was Zern. He runs the warehouse for the
second highest export of Cotton Island, paper. I hate him so much," Sarah grumbled.

"Really? He seems nice," Toby said.

"He's always trying to close the Cotton Warehouse.
Now that the warehouse isn't operating anymore, Zern's warehouse will become
Cotton Island's number one industry. Well, enough about that. I'd better be
going," Sarah said gloomily.

Lydia, Toby and Mickey watched as the forlorn
Elephante walked away from the warehouse.

"That's really sad... Anyway, what do you want
to do first? I heard this place is great for wind surfin--"

"Mickey, how can you even think about wind surfing
at a time like this? We have to help out Sarah," Lydia exclaimed.

"Do we have to?" Toby asked.

"Yes! First, we start with the beginning of the
problem: the workers. We're going to locate the workers of the warehouse and
get some details," Lydia answered. She started walking off. Toby and Mickey
shrugged and ran after their friend.

"Sarah! Just out of interest, where are those
workers who worked at the warehouse?" Lydia asked as she jogged up to the Elephante.

"Most of them got new jobs selling merchandise
at the harbour. Why?" Sarah asked.

"Just out of interest!" Lydia lied with a smile.
Sarah walked off as Mickey and Toby ran up. Lydia just nodded and pointed to
the harbour. Mickey and Toby followed Lydia to the harbour, where they could
possibly solve this mystery.

The Wizard's Apprentice "I am famed for my healing spell, Lupe. I am
the only wizard in Neopia who knows how to perform a healing spell. Travellers
come from far and wide for me to heal them. I think I know when someone is injured."